Dear NASCAR:

and more important, Goodyear (some parts for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, too)

you don't know me, but for a few hours yesterday, i was northwest vista, section 1, row j, seat 10. yes, i, along with thousands of others, had the horrible pleasure of witnessing the greatest debacle in motorsports history. at the yard of bricks no less.

i am ashamed to call myself a nascar fan after what i witnessed yesterday, and you should be ashamed to allow such an event to happen while carrying your banners. double shame to you goodyear; this is not your first embarrassment this year!

at first i brushed this off, safety first, but this was ridiculous. and you knew this was going to happen, yet did nothing. you ruined one of the most high profile races on the circuit.

shame on you goodyear. you spent three days testing at this fabled track, and all you could say for yourselves was...huh, we don't know why this is happening, but maybe it will get better with more cars to lay down more rubber. congratulations, you have joined the lazy americans who would rather enjoy the status quo than work hard and provide a good product. and might i also add that the tire test at indy came after the atlanta event, where you took heat from all the teams for providing a poor quality tire. don't even try to pawn this off on driver safety. you blew it, again, and you feel safe because you have a long term multi-million dollar contract to keep providing crap products to race teams who have no choice but to use your product. i hope you are also proud of the example you have set forth for yourselves, for the sport of nascar, and for america at large...producing crap will still make you a headline name on monday morning.

maybe there was something to tony stewart's spout about your poor quality tires after the event in atlanta. the press and the governing body of the sport gave him a hard time about being so vocal about your products and poor company practices. i bet no one shuts him up this time.

shame on you nascar. you allowed this to happen. time and time again, you have sat back as a vendor has run wild through your sport, taking advantage all along the way. worst of all, this is not the first time this season, by the same vendor! you, the governing authority of this sport, sat in your infamous trailer and allowed a tire company to dictate what needed to happen. you saw the writing on the wall, yet did nothing. you allowed thousands of fans, including myself to spend insane amounts of money to watch a glorified practice! there was no racing! that event shamed nascar, the historic house of bricks, and the teams who actually have something on the line. your 2008 event at indianapolis was worse than an embarrassment, it was a fraud.

and let's be honest, it's not like tire issues at indy is a new thing. i've been there for 3 years, and each year there are mandatory caution flags throughout the race. you say it's for "driver safety," but it's not. your too chicken to stand up to a vendor and tell them to bring a quality product or go home! side note, i'm all for driver safety, and think it should be encouraged, but not to a point where is threatens competition.

and really, who would allow a brand new body style to run on a track that is historically a crap shoot with limited tire data and nothing to go one other than a hunch. shame on you nascar, shame on you.

shame on you indianapolis motor speedway. i understand that you had no control over the tires or the governing body of the sport; however, i sat in a section where repeatedly, fans threw beer cans onto the track, during green flag runs. remember that piece of debris on the front of the #11 car? yeah, from the fans in my section, and security turned a blind eye to the fact that debris was on the track. ironically, the stuff that normally causes cautions during a nascar events couldn't even get the attention of track security. and those fans, they got to stay and enjoy the race, and continue to throw beer cans.

i'm ashamed and disappointed in all of you, some more than others. i read numerous articles today from reputable sports organizations, some of which even carry the name of the governing body of the sport. over and over again the drivers apologized to the fans for such a horrible event. i appreciate that the drivers don't like to put on a show like that for fans. thank you. however, that doesn't change the fact that this was the worst race in history. i can safely say i will not attend another event at indianapolis motor speedway until the tire issue is cleared and guaranteed not to be an issue. i will not watch another live event if it is rumored before hand that there will be tire issues.

even more, i want my money back. i think you nascar, and you goodyear, should refund the fans the cost of the ticket and any travel costs associated with the weekend. i'm sure with the profits made from the weekend that shouldn't be a problem. of course, you're probably too busy working on a pr response to the mess that was, to acknowledge the fans, the life blood of your sport.

remember, we are what makes your sport so big. prepare your plan for when no one comes to watch glorified practices anymore.

regards,

one severely disappointed and pissed off fan